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Local service delivery

The government has given councils and communities more power to decide how to spend their funding to meet local priorities and drive growth. Councils are now accountable for their spending through various checks and balances, with reduced reporting burdens.

At the same time, councils now have around 37% less central government funding than in 2010. As a result, their financial future is uncertain, and effective service delivery is under threat. Government also has less direct information about whether local spending achieves the intended outcomes and delivers value for money.

Key areas in which the NAO can share lessons and good practice across government are in Accountability in local service delivery; Commissioning services; and Financial and service sustainability.

The NAO is publishing a suite of short guides for the new Parliament, one for each government department and a selection of cross-government issues, to assist House of Commons select committees and members of Parliament.

The NAO is publishing a suite of short guides for the new Parliament, one for each government department and a selection of cross-government issues, to assist House of Commons select committees and members of Parliament.

This Overview looks at the local government landscape during the last financial year and summarises both matters of likely interest to Parliament as well as our work with local authorities. The NAO prepares statutory guidance on how local auditors should meet their responsibilities.

This report is a factual update to support the Committee of Public Accounts’ evidence session on the government’s Troubled Families programme on 19 October 2016. It is based primarily on published sources, information supplied by the Department for Communities and Local Government and previous reports published by the National Audit Office.

The Department for Education recognised since 2010 that child protection services are not good enough but its subsequent response has not yet resulted in better outcomes. Spending on children’s social work, including on child protection, varies widely across England and is not related to quality. Neither the DfE nor authorities understand why spending varies.